Ellora Caves

Ajanta Caves

About 30 km from Aurangabad are the world renowned Ellora Caves, known for their Buddhist, Jain and Hindu cultural influences. There are 34 caves containing shrines, monasteries and temples. The Buddhist caves were carved during the period 200 BC to 600 AD. These were followed by the Hindu cave (500-900 AD) and finally the Jain caves (800- 1000 AD)

The caves are excavated in the scarp of a large plateau, running in a north-south direction for nearly 2 km, the scarp being in the form of a semi-circle, the Buddhist group at the right arc on the south, while the Jaina group at the left arc on the north and the Brahmanical group at the centre

The Kailash Temple at Ellora is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is the biggest monolithic sculpture in the world. It is carved from a single, mammoth rock